A/N: So… Originally I wasn't going to add another chapter to this, but I got to thinking and I kind of wanted Loki and Casey to have another meeting. This is pretty much just for my own entertainment so facts might be butchered and plots might go crazy, but whatever dude. Anyway, I hope you like it if you bother to read it. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers franchise, movie, or characters. I do own Casey Elrod.
Notice: While the first chapter took place directly after The Avengers this chapter and any future chapters take place sometime after Thor The Dark World.
Loki Laufeyson, disguised as Odin the All Father, sat on the throne of Asgard - a place he had always wanted to be. It was actually rather uncomfortable, but who ever said that thrones were to be pleasurable to sit in? A king was meant to be powerful not comfortable. Loki rolled his eyes and then looked over the throne room happily. He and Odin were the only one's who knew what he had done since his idiot adopted brother Thor believed him dead.
Loki the Jotun had died a hero in the eyes of all the Asgardians and even some of the Midgardians. The truth was that magic and sorcery had made it appear he'd been impaled by a dark elf and then died. Loki had escaped quite easily and managed to get on the throne. Now he could go about as he pleased - no longer confined by his cell.
He rose off of the throne and dismissed some of the guards, walking down a dark hallway and changing his appearance to that of a servant. Loki wanted to retrieve something he'd left in his prison cell months before and hadn't had the opportunity to get until now. Pretending to be the king of Asgard was a job that kept his every moment filled, until now. Thor had come to visit Asgard for a while and this gave "Odin" a chance to have some rest - or pay a visit to Midgard and discover the secret to a magic trick he'd never conquered.
Earth was not always a good place to be. The little blue planet had dealt with strange things before, but in recent years it seemed everyone wanted to take a turn destroying them. Chitauri, Dark Elves, The Destroyer, and even a Jotun who had been raised as an Asgardian. The people of earth had not even believed in such things before they began attacking.
Casey Elrod wished that her home planet wasn't so popular among bloodthirsty aliens because it usually made life difficult. In fact, she'd been homeless ever since the Chitauri invasion and that had been ages ago. At that moment she was living under a bridge in Central Park and envisioning hot chocolate and a warm fire. A cold blast of reality hit her as the wind blew away the ratty blanket she'd been using for warmth. She snatched at it - lunging to get it - but it blew off and into the pond.
"Oh that's just fantastic!" She muttered, standing up and walking over to the pond to see if she could try and fish it out. Casey located the thin blanket just as it sunk beneath the surface and out of sight. She groaned and shivered. Now she would have to use some of her performance money to buy a new blanket. So much for supper.
Casey pulled her hoodie's hood up and rubbed her arms to try and regain feeling in them. Trudging back to her little campsite, she kicked a pebble angrily and muttered to herself. In her old life such things would have never happened. Her mother would have made sure she was always warm and her father would have told her that everything would be alright. Even when she was sick they had stood by her side and comforted her, but one college lab experiment gone wrong and she was out on the streets and not wanted by her parents. Casey rubbed her eyes at the memory, willing her tears to stay back. She got to her little camp and surveyed her belongings. A few dirty clothes, a worn cap, three packs of cards, an empty plastic water bottle, and a small plastic table set up on its side to keep the wind out.
Stuffing everything in her beat up backpack (except the table), Casey thought about possible places she could set up for to perform her magic tricks. She considered trekking down to eighty-first street but in the cold weather she didn't think she could make it that far. Columbus Avenue seemed like a good place, but there was Whole Foods place that kept telling her to get lost. Perhaps staying in the Park would be the best course of action. She could set up at a tourist attraction and then rake in some cash.
With her destination decided, Casey folded up her plastic table and dragged it along. Her stomach grumbled a little, probably protesting the lack of breakfast, but she kept walking. Once in a particularly scenic spot, she unfolded the table and opened a pack of playing cards. Time to get to work.
Loki had retrieved his human playing cards without a hitch and then transported to Midgard. He was currently wandering the streets of New York City dressed as a business man. He had enchanted the playing cards earlier and now they would take him to their previous owner, wherever she was.
As he strolled along he glanced ahead and his eyes narrowed. Just ahead of him was none other that Tony Stark. Despite the fact that the human billionaire was wearing a hood in a feeble attempt to hide from paparazzi Loki still recognized him. The king of mischief also remembered that Stark thought him dead.
Just as Stark looked up in Loki's direction, the Jotun had vanished and an adolescent Midgardian boy had taken his place. Loki tried not to make eye contact, but he couldn't help it. Tony Stark didn't seem to care that they had made eye contact, but Loki smiled gently. When he was close enough he stuck out his foot and tripped the billionaire, then he switched disguises and blended back into the crowd. Stark just looked angry and slightly confused.
The cards tugged Loki along the path and into the park. He strolled down the sidewalk, carefully checking the face of every person. The face he was looking for could not be found. So, Loki continued walking, checking the cards in his hand every few minutes. Just as he was close to giving up this foolish pursuit he heard someone yelling.
"Be dazzled by this show of magic! Make a bet, play a game! I've got all kinds of tricks up my sleeve!" A young woman called. It was her - the girl who had attempted to steal his money and dropped the pack of cards. He approached, changing his appearance once more so that she wouldn't recognize him.
"I'd like to place a bet," He called, stepping a little closer and placing a wad of human money on the table. His blue eyes flicked up to her and widened a little. The Midgardian girl looked terrible. Her clothes were dirty and ripped, her brown hair a tangled mess underneath her torn hood, her hands were dry and cracked - the left one bleeding a little, and she looked tired. He briefly wondered what had happened to her since he'd seen her last, but pushed any concern away and focused on the three cards on the table.
She forced a smile and looked up at him. "Oh? What would you like to bet on?"
"That I can find the card after you mix them up." He snorted as if it was obvious.
"Of course!" She raised her hands and looked around her small audience, "Who thinks he can do it? I'd wager this smart looking fellow can find the lady card on the first try, anyone else want to put a bet to that?"
A few people placed small paper bills on the table and made bets on whether or not Loki could find the card on the first try. The performer laid down a bill with the number twenty marked on it. She gestured to his own money.
"You can keep that this round because most of us are betting that you'll win. Next round we shall see."
He pocketed his money and watched as she shuffled the cards around slightly. It was child's play to guess which card it was and she hadn't even swapped out the card for one in her sleeve. He pointed to the one he knew the lady card to be and she flipped it over to confirm his beliefs.
"Well done my friend! That was easy, right?"
"Indeed."
"I bet you can't get it the next time, I'll gamble my twenty dollar bill on it."
"I'll bet I can locate the red lady card with this," He laid down a huge wad of human money and smirked as her eyes lit up, "Fair enough?"
"Yessir, that sounds good to me!" She looked him in the eye and seemed to recognize him, but shook it off, "Let's get started."
She began switching the cards around so fast that it would be impossible to tell where it went and a few people in the audience laughed, believing he was about to lose his money. Loki saw her slip the particular card he was looking for up her sleeve and replace it with another.
Finally the cards on the table stopped moving and she looked at him expectantly. "Okie dokey! Which one is the lady card?"
"The card I'm looking for is not on the table," He announced, grabbing her arm and slamming it on the table.
"Hey buddy, what are you doing!" She protested, wiggling under his strong grip.
"The lady card is up her sleeve," He pulled it out and the crowd laughed, "So, I found it, pay up."
